But, Michael Golden, GAO's associate general counsel, said, 'It's a recommendation and they'll have to take some corrective measures.'

GAO recommended the Army reopen discussions with all of the ITES-2S bidders and request revised proposals. The agency may then determine the number of awards deemed appropriate, Golden said. GAO also recommended that the Army reimburse the five protestors the amount it cost to file their protests.

'If the evaluation of revised proposals results in a determination that one or more of the current awardees' proposals no longer represents the best value to the government, the agency should terminate the contracts,' Golden said.

The Army has until Dec. 24 to respond to GAO's recommendations, he added.

ITES-2S is a consolidated contract vehicle for products and services, and serves as a follow-on to the original ITES-Enterprise Mission Support Services Solutions contracts. Services under ITES-2S include business process re-engineering, information systems security, information assurance, IT services, network support, systems operations and maintenance, program management, enterprise design, integration and consolidation, and education and training.

The Army, Defense Department and other federal agencies are authorized to order from ITES-2S by issuing individual task orders.